Coupler



E. P. KINNE Sept. I3, 1949.

COUPLER 3 Shets-Sheet 2 Filed July 1e, 194s www E. P. KINNE i Sept. 13,1949.

COUPLER 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 16, 1943 IN V EN TOR.

alienated Sept. 13, 1949 UNITED TATES QF FICE COUPLERl Edmund JP. nime,Alliance, ohio', assigne .to

American Steel Foundries, Chicago, Ill., a cori poration of New Jerseyimplication July 16, 1943, seiialNaiseei 10 Claims. (Cl: 213159l` Myinvention relates to couplers and more particularly to an improvenent onthe design of coupler illustrated Vin Patent No. 2,183,501, issuedDecember `12, 1939, 'by the United States Patent Oiioe. While theinvention as illustrated herein is applied to the type of Vcoupler shownand described said patent, it vvill be understood that thepresent'inventioninay with some modication be adaptedto other couplerssuch as, for example, the E coupler, adopted as' a 'standard by theAssociation of Anerican Railroads.

The principal object of this inventionis to provide means forholdingjtnelock in locked position, which means'wi'll ntfbie alected bythe forces and the conditions v which cause the anticreep of presentcouplrsto release, thus failing to prevent the lock froniraising to'cause an' accidental uncoupling. My' novel anticreep means issupplemental to theJ anticrep presently utilized and the forces ofgravity which' are 'depended upon to cause'the present` ariticreep to'function.

A specific object of ny invention is to provide means in the form of aspring which supplements the present ar'lticreeprnealis.v The spring is'effective to prevent creeping of the' lock in the event that the usualanticrep `rneans fails for so'rne reason; however, the customaryanticreep means is provided and functions 'as usual in the event thatthe spring for son'e reason should become inoperative.

A different object oi myinvefl'tion is to provide a novel wedgeengag'enelitbetween the knuckle tail and the lock, whereby asth'e latteris urged to locked position, it facilitates the closing of the knuckle.

In the drawings, Figure' 1 is a horizontal sectional view through acoupler embodying my invention substantially as' indicated by the linel-I of Figure 2, the parts operable Within the coupler being shown inplan View with a portion of the knuckle tail broken away to illustratethe knuckle thrower therebeneath.

Figure 2 is a sectionalV view through the coupler head taken in thevertical plane indicated by the line 2-2 of Figure 1 with the lool; andthe parts associated therewith 'shown'V in elevation, a part ofthe lockbeing brokenA awa-y.

Figure 3 is a View comparable to that of Figure 2 with the lookllustratdilr its highest position riding on the open knuckle tail.

Figure 4 is a' sectional viewcorr'lparable to those of Figures 2 and 3but illustrating theV lock falling to locked position, and Figure 5J isa` sectional View taken in the verticl'fplane indicated by the line 5--5of Figure 4.

DE uu in a coirr'plem ntary fa'l'n'iitarysectional View comparablet tlosFigures"f24 to' 4 inclusive but illustrating 'he "anin 4vv'hich' mynovel anti- `creep vb 'ster Ais 'applied within the coupler he'ad;

Figures-Srartig illustrate iii-detail my novel antiee'il4 spring,- 13being -al side elevation thereof and Figure 9 be atop-plan' Viewthereof.

Desori l'griy irve nin detail,y the coupler head-'gherally'de'sigiatedi, lis integrally formedwithasliianl4;;ffragirientary portion of which is ill'ust-rate`vknuckle-6 is `pivoted at 8 (Fig- Y tic- "t'r'tion vvithjin the couplern'the abo ""r'nentioned patent, anda leek generaliydesignated lo, ispivoted Within th'lr'ad'2 yth spacedl trunnions l2 and i4, theiur'ihiorl i2-B f i'reeei-vedwitnin a complementaly opening theadjacentcoupler head Wall; andthe trun` on" f4 being received Within a trunioiipdeleet'nfitegrally refined within the coupler head1 The ldcfl gl il'cliiiri'se'sgthealtiereep lug I S for engagement Witlitli'aiiticrep-stopor lug I8 of the liftengenaly-dsigated 2'0, saidlifter being operablearotllrZZA received Within an opening 24 therethrough and keyed withinifjakeyl received Witht 2e partiallydeningsaid ivtedon the axis 3l) bytrurinions' thereon at 'opposite 6,'jasdescibed `in detail in theabove-identi cated;- It will be understood that therotor rota "don its'airis 3!! by means al op 'rating rod, whereby the ted'to peraite'thelock and the rotation of the same to open position as the face 32 of thelifter engages the operating arm 40 of the knuckle thrower to rotate thesame in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in Figure 1, about itstrunnion 44.

In locked position, as illustrated in Figure 1, the lock I is engagedat, 50 with the locking face of the knuckle tail 52 and said lock isengaged at 54, 54 with the wall 56 of the coupler head, the lock beingformed with a pulling lug 58 for engagement at 68 with the lug 62 formedon said wall 56, whereby the lock is prevented from creeping forwardlywithin thecoupler under pulling service conditions.

The above-described coupler parts are substantially identical with thoseshown and described in my above-mentioned patent, and it will beunderstood that these parts are assembled and are maintained inassembled relationship in substantially the manner set forth in saidpatent. It may be noted that substantially the entire mass of the lockIii is disposed forwardly of its trunnions I2 and I4 in order tofacilitate its movement in dropping to locked position, and the presentinvention consists in combining with the above-described structure atorsion or booster spring, generally designated 64 and shown in detailin Figures 8 and 9, this spring being operable to resist raising of thelock from its locked position, as hereinafter more fully described.

'Ihe spring, as illustrated in detail in Figures 8 and 9, consists oftwo coils 66 and 68 formed at their adjacent ends with a loop 'Ill forengagement at 'I2 (Figure 2) with the arcuate spring seat 'I4 formed onthe upper surface of the lock. At their remote ends the coils 66 and E8are formed with hooks I6 and 'IB for engagement at 8) and 82,respectively, within notches formed in the rib 84 integrally joined withthe coupler head. The engagement of the hooks 'I6 and I8 with the rib 84will be best understood by a comparison of Figure 6 with any of Figures2 to 4 inclusive. The coils 66 and 68 are received beneath a bridgelikeretaining member 86 integrally formed with the coupler head and slottedas at 81 (Figure 1) to accommodate movement of the spring 64 as the lockis raised and lowered within the coupler head.

In assembling the spring 64, as illustrated in Figure 7, the coils areslipped beneath the retaining member 86 and are moved toward the rib 84with the loop Hl of the spring, inclined downwardly as illustrated inthis figure. When the hooks are in proper position within the notches 38and 82, the loop may be raised for engagement with the lock as it isinserted through the front opening 88 in the coupler head, as describedin detail in my above-mentioned patent. The opening 88 is best seen inFigures 2 to 4 inelusive.

Figure 3 illustrates the lock I0 in its highest position, riding on theknuckle tail 52 after the knuckle has been thrown open preparatory to acoupling operation. The lifter is illustrated in released position, towhich it normally rotates in a counterclockwise direction, asillustrated in this figure, this rotation being caused by thecounterweight portion 89 of the lifter which, after actuation thereof ina clockwise direction by means of the rotor, is operable to return thelifter to its released position as illustrated in each of Figures 2 to 4inclusive. As illustrated in Figure 3, it will be seen that the coils ofthe anticreep spring 64 are placed under considerable torsion, wherebyas the lock commences to drop to locked position as illustrated inFigure 4, the spring 64 is exerting a considerable pressure tofacilitate this action. Inasmuch as the knuckle tail, as clearlyillustrated in Figure 5, is formed with a wedge surface for engagementwith the lock, it will be understood that the spring is operable toassist in moving the knuckle to closed position, whereupon the lockdrops to locked position, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, between thelocking face of the knuckle tail and the locking surface of the wall 56of the coupler head. I have actually ascertained by experiment that thespring 64 is of considerable assistance in thus completing the finalclosure of the knuckle.

Figure 2 illustrates the lock in locked position but slightly raisedfrom the seat 92 which the lock normally engages in this position. Thisfigure shows the action of the spring 64 in resisting movement of thelock upward from the seat 92, thus supplementing the anticreep obtainedas a result of the engagement of the anticreep lug I6 on the lock withthe anticreep lug I8 on the lifter. In this connection it will beunderstood, as more fully described in my above-mentioned patent, thatmovement of the lock from the position illustrated in Figure 4 to thatillustrated in Figure 2 results in a clockwise rotation of the lifter 28as the lug I6 rides over the lug I8 on the lifter. When the lug I6 haspassed the lug I8, the lifter, because of the counterweight portion 89thereof, rotates in a counterclockwise direction to its releasedposition, whereby the lugs I6 and I8 engage each other, as illustratedin Figure 2, to aord an anticreep.

It is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited by the exactembodiment of the device shown which is merely by way of illustrationand not limitation as various and other forms of the device will, ofcourse, be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing fromthe spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a car coupler, the combination of a coupler head, a knuckle, alock, a lifter, a rotor, and a knuckle thrower operable in said head,said knuckle thrower having an operating arm, said lifter having cammeans adjacent its forward end and being rotatable to raise said lock byengagement of said means with the forward end of said lock and saidlifter being further rotatable to engage said arm and operate saidknuckle thrower for movement of said knuckle, said lock having trunnionmeans at its rear end substantially the entire mass of said lock beingdisposed upwardly of said trunnion means in lockset position, wherebythe impact of coupling imparts a maximum falling impulse to rotate saidlock from lockset position to normal locked position, the tail of saidknuckle having a wedge surface for engagement with the adjacent portionof said lock as the latter moves to locked position, and resilient meansbearing against a portion of said coupler head and against said lock tofacilitate the movement thereof to locked position, said resilient meansbeing in the form of a torsion spring having a coil intermediate itsends, said spring being interlocked at one end thereof with means onsaid coupler head and said spring being in abutmentat its opposite endwith said lock, a retaining member formed within said coupler head andoverlying said coil, and a rib within said coupler head and engaged withone end of said spring, the opposite end of said spring bearing againstsaid lock.

2. In a car coupler, the combination of a couplerhead, a knuckle, aloch-fainter, a rotor, and a knuckle throweroperable 'in said head, saidknuckle thrower having -an operating Aarm, Ysaid lifter havingVcam'rneans adjacent its forward end and being rotatabl'e-toraise-saidlock-by engagement of said'mean-s-with-'the forward-end of said lock andsaid lifter bcing'furtherrotatable to engage said arm and operate -saidknuckle and thrower for movement of saidknuckle, said lock havingtrunnion means at'- itsrear end, substantially the en'tiremass 4of saidlock being disposed upwardly of said .trunnion means in locksetposition, whereby the impact 'of `coupling imparts a maximum fallingA,impulse to :rotate said lock from lockset position to normal lockedposition, the tail of said knucklehaving a wedge surface for engagementwith the adjacent Vportion of said lock as the latter moves to lockedposition, and resilient means bearing against.aportion oi said couplerhead and Vagainst ,said lock to vfacilitate the movement thereof tolocked position, said resilient means being in the vform of a torsionspring having a coilintermediate its ends, said spring being interlockedat one end thereof with means on said .coupler head and said springbeing in abutment at its opposite end with said lock.

3. In a car coupler, the combination of a coupler head, a knucklepivoted therein, a lock operable therein, a lifter, a rotor, and aknuckle thrower having a knuckle engaging arm and an operating arm, alockset shoulder and an anticreep lug on said lock, said lifter beingoperable to raise said lock to lockset position by cam engagementtherewith wherein said lock is supported by abutment of said lifteragainst said shoulder, and said lifter being further operable to rotatesaid knuckle thrower to open said knuckle by engagement with saidoperating arm, said lifter having an anticreep stop integral therewith,said lug and said stop having abutment against each other when saidparts are in locked position to prevent a creeping action of said lock,said lifter and said rotor being keyed together for rotary movement whenassembled in operative position, a bridgelike retaining member and a ribadjacent thereto within said coupler head, and a torsion springcomprising a coil received beneath said retaining member, one end ofsaid spring being nterlocked with said rib and the opposite end of saidspring bearing against an adjacent surface on said lock for resistingmovement thereof from its locked position.

4. In a car coupler, the combination of a coupler head, a knuckle, alock, a lifter, a rotor, and a knuckle thrower operable in said head,said knuckle thrower having an operating arm, said lifter having cammeans adjacent its forward end and being rotatable to raise said lock byengagement of said means with the forward end of said lock and saidlifter being further rotatable to engage said arm and operate saidknuckle thrower for movement of said knuckle, said lock having trunnionmeans at its rear end, substantially the entire mass of said lock beingdisposed upwardly of said trunnion means in lockset position, Wherebythe impact of coupling imparts a maximum falling impulse to rotate saidlock from lockset position to normal locked position, movement of saidlock from lockset to normal locked position being effective to rotatesaid lifter and establish an anticreep between said lock and saidlifter, and resilient means for resiliently maintaining said lock andsaid lifter in anticreep relationship, said resilient means being in theform of a torsion spring bearing at opposite ends thereof against 6 saidhead and said lock, said `spring comprising a coil intermediate itsends', and fulcrummeans for said spring in the form ofabridge-likemember integrally formed with said head and overlying saidcoil.

5. In a car coupler, the combination of acoupler head, a knuckle pivotedtherein,.a.lock operable therein, a lifter, a rotor, and .a knucklethrower having a knuckle engagingarm and an operating arm, a locksetshoulder and an anticreep lug on said lock, said lifter'beingoperable toraise said lock to lockset positionby camengagement therewith whereinsaid lock- .is-supported by abutment of said vlifter against saidshoulder, and said lifter being further operable to rotate said knucklethrower' to operi said knuckle by engagement with said 'operating' arm,said lifter having an anticreep stop `integral therewith, said lug andsaid stop'having abutment against each other when saidiparts are inlocked position to prevent a creepingaction ofs'aidlo'ck, said lifterand said rotor being keyed together for rotary movement when assembledin. operative position, and resilient means engaging saidcoupler `headand said lock for resiliently maintaining said lug in abutment with saidstop, said riesilient means being in the form of an elongated memberbearing at its opposite ends against abutment means on said lock andsaid head respectively, and an integral bridge member Within said headbearing against said elongated member intermediate its ends to afford afulcrum therefor.

6. In a car coupler, a coupler head, parts operable in said headcomprising a lock having lockset means, a knuckle thrower, a rotor, alifter mounted on said rotor, cooperating anticreep means on said lifterand said lock adjacent their rear ends, and cam means on the forward endof said lifter cooperable with the forward end of said lock to rotatesaid lock from locked to lockset position, wherein the forward end ofsaid lifter is in abutment with said lockset means, resilient meansbearing against said coupler and a portion of said lock to resist saidrotation from locked position, said resilient means being in the form ofa torsion spring intel-locked at one end thereof with means in thecoupler head, said spring slidably bearing at its opposite end againstan arcuate seat on said lock, said spring comprising an intermediatecoil, and an integral bridge member within said head overlying said coiland bearing thereagainst.

7. In a car coupler, a coupler head, a lock, a lifter, a rotor and aknuckle thrower operable therein, said lock having trunnions at its rearend and lockset means at an intermediate point, said lifter having cammeans adjacent its forward end engageable with said lock remote fromsaid trunnions and forwardly of said lockset means upon rotation of saidlifter, said lock being operable on release from said lockset positionto impart rotative movement to said lifter and establish an anticreeptherewith, a torsion spring with an intermediate coil and spaced endportions engaging said coupler head and said lock respectively foryieldingly maintaining the latter in its anticreep relationship withrespect to said lifter, and a retaining member within said head in fixedrelation with respect thereto, said member being spaced from saidtrunnions and bearing against said coil to afford a fulcrum for saidspring.

8. In a car coupler, a coupler head, a lock, a lifter, a rotor and aknuckle thrower operable therein, said lock having trunnions at its rearend and lockset means at an intermediate point, said lifter having cammeans adjacent its forward end engageable with said lock remote fromsaid trunnions and forwardly of said lockset means upon rotation of saidlifter, said lock being operable on release from said lockset positionto impart rotative movement to said lifter and establish an anticreeptherewith, resilient means having its opposite ends respectivelyengaging said coupler head and said lock for yieldingly maintaining thelatter in its anticreep relationship with respect to said lifter, and abridge-like retaining member formed within said head and spaced fromsaid trunnions, said member bearing against said resilient meansintermediate its ends to aiord a fulcrum therefor.

9. In a coupler, a coupler head, a knuckle pivoted therein, a lockpivoted at the rear extremity thereof Within said head and movable intoand out of locking engagement with said knuckle, a torsion springbearing at opposite ends thereof respectively against a rib on said headand an upwardly facing surface on said lock, said spring comprising acoil intermediate its ends, and an integral bridge-like retaining memberformed within said head and overlying said coil, said member beingspaced rearwardly of said lock.

10. In a coupler, a coupler head, a knuckle pivoted therein, a lockmovable into and out of locking engagement with said knuckle, anelongated resilient member bearing at opposite ends thereof respectivelyagainst said head and said lock, and an integral bridge-like retainingmember formed within said head and bearing against said elongated memberintermediate its ends to afford a fulcrum therefor.

EDMUND P. KINNE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 589,140 Regan Aug. 31, 1897612,396 Brown Oct. 18, 1898 658,073 Richards Sept. 18, 1900 798,322Carter Aug. 29, 1905 1,083,121 McKeIahan Dec. 30, 1913 1,479,100 KelsoJan. 1, 1924 2,183,501 Kinne Dec. 12, 1939

